The subject matter herein relates generally to electrical charging assemblies with locking devices for locking an electrical connection, and more particularly, to a charging assembly for locking a mating connector to a charging inlet of a vehicle.
Known electrical connections with a high voltage applied or high currents to be transmitted are capable of being locked, or secured against disconnection. Such locking avoids arcing and consequent damage of connection components, avoids potential injury, and guards against premature disconnection before a battery achieves a designated level of charge.
Electric vehicles, including fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, establish an electrical connection during charging only if a plug connector of the charging station is securely and completely plugged into a charging inlet of the vehicle. Electric vehicles have known locking devices on the charging inlet or the plug connector of the charging station. The locking devices have a locking member which is movable from an unlock position to a lock position. When the locking member is in the unlock position, the charging inlet and the plug connector of the charging station are able to be mated to each other and disconnected. When the charging inlet and the plug connector are mated and the locking member is in the lock position, the charging inlet and the plug connector are positively locked and may not be disconnected or unplugged. The locking member must be actuated to the unlock position to disconnect the plug connector from the charging inlet of the vehicle.
The locking member of known locking devices may unintentionally stick, freeze, or jam in the lock position due to various causes. Some potential causes for a stuck locking member include a dead battery that prevents an electrical actuator from receiving electric current to move the locking member, an inoperable electrical actuator caused by damage to a motor or a solenoid in the electrical actuator, and jammed or broken gears in a mechanical linkage of the locking device. In order to unlock the plug connector from the charging port in such situations, some known locking devices have mechanical override mechanisms that include a long cable routed from the locking device through the vehicle to a handle that is accessible by an occupant of the vehicle. The occupant actuates the handle to apply tension on the cable, which transitions the locking pin to the unlock position via a mechanical linkage in the locking device. Such mechanical override mechanisms may be complex and costly due to the routing of the cable through various sections of the vehicle and the installation of a specific handle.
A need remains for a charging assembly with a mechanical override for a locking device that is less complex and costly than known mechanical override mechanisms.